


Riptide

by Hyperionova



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Cop Rune, M/M, Makeup Sex, Schoolteacher Sehun, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 18:51:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17431583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyperionova/pseuds/Hyperionova
Summary: Sehun thinks it's time to introduce his boyfriend, Rune to his parents, who aren't too thrilled about Rune in the first place. Things, unfortunately, do not go the way he wanted them to.





	Riptide

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [@IamStar_Angel](https://twitter.com/IamStar_Angel)
> 
> Additional note: No slander is intended towards the French, escargots, Germans or any kind of snails.

Peering at his wristwatch one more time, he huffed out an incensed breath and tapped a foot restlessly against the pavement. He was usually a patient man. Patience was a prerequisite in his job description. He was no stranger to the world of patience as he dealt with rambunctious kids almost every day of the week. But his forbearance was tested time and again by one particular, fully-grown (a little overly-grown) man, who had broken more promises than presidents. He’d be here sharp at 16:00, he had promised. It was 17:32 now.

And Sehun was still standing outside the gates of the school, gnashing his teeth furiously, glaring at the time and the text that read, _‘on my way, baby.’_

“I can’t wait to hear his excuses are this time,” he muttered to himself.

“Not going home, Sehun?”

He glanced at the fellow teacher and sighed heavily. “I’m waiting for my boyfriend to come pick me up,” he said dully. “He is late. Again.”

Mrs. Jensen, the fourth grade Biology teacher, smiled at him weakly, fixing her glasses. “Ah. They’re only on time when you’re new into the relationship. I have a husband that hasn’t shown up on time since the day we got married.”

Sehun rubbed the back of his neck. He had had a long day at school, too. The last thing he needed right now was an argument. Especially not this evening. There was too much at stake this evening.

“Well, I’ll see you at school tomorrow, then,” Mrs. Jensen said before she wended her way to her convertible parked in the corner of the lot.

Fourteen frustrating minutes later, a black SUV pulled into the lot and stopped before Sehun. He clenched his jaw, crossing his arms over the chest, the bridge of his nose scrunched up under his spectacles. And as the window rolled down, Rune cocked his head and lowered his sunglasses to flash his maddening baby blues with a faint smirk playing on his lips.

“You look mad,” he said, voice deep and gruff like he had just toked on a cigarette.

“Were you smoking?” Sehun asked, not doing anything to hide the exasperation in his expression and tone.

Rune took the shades off and sighed. “Can you get in first?”

Shaking his head, Sehun climbed into the SUV and buckled up.

“Now, give me a kiss.” His thirty-five-year-old boyfriend leaned in, draping a thick, muscled arm over the Sehun’s seat. He had at least cleaned up nice. Sehun was grateful that the man had traded his uniform and usual plain T-shirts and lifeless blue jeans for a white, _ironed_ shirt—sleeves rolled all the way up to his elbows, displaying the tattoos inked to his arms—and a pair of black jeans. He had even washed and gelled his hair, that was cropped short at the sides, neatly. His beard had also been recently trimmed. As he inched close, Sehun smelled the mint in his breath.

He shoved the man back by the chest. “So, you _were_ smoking.”

“ _You’re_ smokin’,” said Rune with a lopsided grin.

Sehun continued to glower.

Then Rune muttered, “Sorry, I’m late.”

“You know how important this dinner is. You’re late. And you’re smoking. Did you even shower before you left?”

“Of course, I did. Look, there was this drug-dealing perp my partner and I had to chase down and sock. Then I had to finish a report before I could get away and delegate to the new rookie that joined the force last—”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses, Rune,” Sehun cut him off. Rune felt quiet, eyebrows furrowing.

“And it was just one cigarette. I was stressed out. Better than getting sloshed and picking up a hooker, right?” He grinned.

Sehun’s scowl deepened and killed Rune’s humour from his face. Sighing, Rune grabbed Sehun’s chin and turned the boy’s face to meet his eyes.

“I know it’s an important dinner,” he said in a low voice, thumb swiping along Sehun’s lower lip. “Hell. It’s probably the most important dinner of my life. I’m not going to botch things up for us.”

Pulling away, Sehun exhaled heavily. “I’m sorry. I guess I am just… nervous.” He dropped his head to fidget with his hands on his lap. Rune curled a hand around the back of his neck then.

“Why?” he asked, his callused fingers brushing Sehun’s hair on the nape.

“You know why,” Sehun grumbled, refusing to raise his head.

Rune retrieved his hand and brought it to rest on the gear stick. “Worried they might not like me?”

Oh, Sehun _knew_ they would not like him. They already did not. And if history was any indication, he knew his family would have more than one problem with Rune. Not only was he a cop—one of the dirtiest lines of work according to his highly principled father—Rune was also a crude, two-fisted, no-nonsense brute. He was too direct and uncaring about what other people thought of him. It was one of the many reasons Sehun had fallen in love with him. But these weren’t the qualities parents would particularly admire in the man that sought their son’s hand in marriage.

And especially Sehun’s parents, who had never been excited about Sehun dating a cop in the first place.

“Just… try to reel in your… anger management issues for tonight, all right?” Sehun told the man. “And behave.”

Rune blinked those perfect, icy blue eyes. “I’m never angry around you. You know you’re my happy pill.” He was right. If there was one person in this world who could hold this ill-tempered cop—who had gotten suspended more than once for going ballistic and disobeying orders—down, it was Sehun. Not in the beginning, though. Back when he was just starting to get to know the man, Rune had intimidated him so much that Sehun would barely look into those two pools of vicious blue and shudder every time Rune held his hand or tried to kiss him.

“Yeah, I know. But my… parents can be… challenging.”

Rune smiled. “I will be on my best behaviour. I promise.”

Sehun tried to manage a thin smile. But he knew that not even Rune’s _best_ behaviour would cut it with his parents.

* * *

When they arrived at the restaurant, Rune let out a low whistle in awe, glancing at the opulent building ahead of them. “French. Fancy. Wow. There’re even valets,” he remarked.

Sehun adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, curling his clammy hands into fists to stop them from shaking. “Okay. Remember. Don’t say anything that’s irrelevant. Just answer my parents’ questions and say nothing more. No work talk.”

Rune cocked an eyebrow at him as he pulled over. “Really? You want me to just pretend like I’m a Muppet?”

“Yes. Very much.”

With a shrug and a sigh, Rune said, “All right. If that’s what you want.”

“Good.”

As they climbed out of the SUV, a valet hurried to Rune to take the keys from him.

“Oh,” Sehun rasped and stopped his boyfriend in his tracks, grabbing his arm.

“What?”

“Your tattoos.” Sehun hurriedly unrolled Rune’s shirt sleeves and buttoned them around his wrists.

“Sehun, I don’t think they’d care about the tattoos,” said Rune with a frown.

“You don’t know them like I do, Rune. Trust me. An astrophysics professor and a biotechnologist will not understand why someone would ink the words ‘Eat Meat’ on their forearm permanently.”

“To keep the vegans away. Duh.”

“You’re not funny,” Sehun groaned and shoved the man by chest.

Rolling his eyes, Rune caught Sehun’s shoulders. “Hey. Relax. It’s going to be all right. I won’t embarrass you in front of your family. Don’t worry.”

That was not what Sehun was fretting over. It was not about Rune embarrassing him. It was about his family humiliating Rune for who he was. And Sehun knew he would then be put in an awkward position where he would be torn between his family and the man he loved.

He heaved a breath and shoved the glasses up the bridge of his nose. Smiling, Rune cupped a side of Sehun’s face and said, “Shall we?”

“You’re not nervous at all?” Sehun asked.

“I am. But only because this means so much to you.”

Sehun smiled then and hooked an arm around his boyfriend’s before they ambled into the restaurant together. The garçon showed them to their table that was already occupied by a man in a suit and a woman with a tight bun.

Sehun’s breathing quickened, and he tightened his arm around Rune’s thickly padded biceps. “You okay?” Rune asked in a low voice that was almost muffled by _La Bohême_ that was playing in the restaurant.

Sehun stared at his parents, who were sporting their familiar impatient look. The first time Sehun had disappointed them was when he chose to become a schoolteacher that taught mathematics and science subjects to school children instead of becoming a medical practitioner they wanted him to become. And he would never forget that disappointed look because he encountered it again a couple of years later when he told them that he was dating a man. Their disappointed amplified tenfold when he added that fact that his lover was a man of the law enforcement agency. Which, to them, meant a man with low achievements academically and socially. Sehun had never told Rune how prejudiced his parents actually were toward those outside the circle of elites.

Perhaps that was what drove Sehun to finding a man outside the elitists’ circle in the first place. The walls in his house were adorned with countless certificates of accomplishments. But growing up in that sort of environment where there was not even any room to breathe some days, Sehun found Rune to be a breath of fresh air. Sure, the man had some faults and shortcomings, but for Sehun, he was perfect. And up until tonight, Sehun was perfect for him, too. But he knew things had the possibility of going south if he did not manage to impress his parents tonight.

“It’ll be all right,” whispered Rune. Sehun nodded his head shakily and retrieved his arm as he started toward the table.

“Mom, Dad,” he greeted them before they looked up at him with a rancid moue on their faces. His mother blinked, eyes darting over Sehun’s shoulders to land on Rune. They then widened, taking the size of the man that was standing behind her son.

Sehun cleared his throat as his parents rose to their feet.

“Mom, Dad, this is… Rune,” he introduced Rune with his heart in his mouth.

“Mr. and Mrs. Oh, it’s great to finally meet you both,” said Rune as he accepted Sehun’s mother’s hand and shook it before turning to his father.

“Pleasure,” said his father sternly. “Rune. And… do you have a last name?”

Sehun bit his tongue.

“Uh… Yes,” said Rune with a ridiculous grimace. “It’s Degenhard.”

“Quite unusual names. And an… intimidating physique. _Degenhard…_ Are you perhaps German?” asked Sehun’s mother.

“Can we sit?” Sehun interrupted. That earned him a faint glower from his mother, but they took their seats. “I’m famished. Let’s order our food first.”

“Well, this could have been avoided if you had gotten here sooner,” said his father, keeping his eyes on the menu card. Sehun’s throat tightened a little as he glanced to Rune and saw the man’s eyebrows slowly drawing together in a subtle scowl.

“That’s on me, Mr. Oh,” Rune said. “I ran a little late because of work and was late to pick Sehun up.”

Sehun squeezed Rune’s hand under the table, prompting him to shut up.

“Oh,” let out his mother. “Speaking of work, Sehun tells us you’re a man of the force.”

“It sounds sophisticated when you put it that way,” Rune scoffed. Sehun gripped his hand harder. “I mean… yes.”

“Here’s something that jumps right off the menu,” Sehun said to avert the attention. “Escargots.”

“That’s disgusting. I didn’t even know you liked it…” Rune trailed off when Sehun pinned him with a daggering look.

“Let me guess,” his father said with a cocky smirk. “You prefer comfort food.”

Rune smiled. “I’m a certified bachelor. The microwave is my best friend. But I’m not a weirdo to eat molluscs.” He chuckled.

“Rune, that’s offensive,” Sehun hissed under his breath.

“To who? The French? Or your mother? She just asked me if I’m German because I look scary and my name sounds _unusual_.”

Sehun clenched his hands.

Rune faked a snigger. “I’m kidding. Relax.”

“No, it’s all right,” said Mr. Oh. “We’re all… entitled to our opinions and preferences. Your brand of humour is… refreshing, Rune.” He hailed the garçon over before ordering a platter of the restaurant’s finest escargots for himself.

Sehun watched Rune’s jaw slack a little. _Great start._

Rune ordered an onion soup with some bread. Sehun almost chided him for it. But he held his tongue instead.

“So, Rune,” said Sehun’s father, nursing a glass of wine in his hand while they waited for their food. “Do you have a place of your own?”

“I do,” answered Rune. “An apartment actually.”

“An apartment,” echoed the man. Sehun’s stomach was already churning. “A car?”

“Yes.” He simpered. “Should I make your work easier for you and list down all the properties I own?”

“ _Rune_ ,” Sehun hissed again.

“I’m joking,” Rune snickered. But it was clear to see that he was beginning to lose his temper. And Sehun knew his parents had barely scratched the surface.

“It’s nice to have a cop in the family,” said Sehun’s mother, cocking up for something snarky, Sehun was sure. “We’re all mostly academics and practitioners.”

“Hmm.” Rune smiled and leaned back in his chair.

“We wanted Sehun to become a doctor of some sort,” she added. “But he said he loves kids and he wants to teach. Settle for something… small. And… unobtrusive.” She eyed Rune piercingly. “He never goes for what we want for him. Marches to the beat of his own drum, this one. Not saying his choices are always the best.”

Rune’s blue eyes turned cold. “Is that so?”

Sehun rested a hand on Rune’s lap.

“Tell us about your family.”

Rune cleared his throat before speaking again. “Well, I have a deadbeat father that’s still alive somewhere in the country. I do have a sister, though. She’s married, but she lives close by.”

Sehun watched his parents swill the wine anxiously.

“How old are you again?” asked Sehun’s father.

“Thirty-five.”

“That is… not young,” said his mother. “How did you two meet? There aren’t many nexuses between a schoolteacher and a cop.”

“His nephew goes to the school I teach at,” Sehun answered.

“Yeah,” said Rune. “I was picking him up one day and I realized he was in detention. Sehun was in charge of it. That’s how I met your son.”

Sehun remembered it all distinctly. The way Rune had barged into the classroom and sworn to give Sehun a piece of his mind for putting his nephew in detention for a harmless cuss word he had thrown in the teacher’s direction. That was followed by a string of cuss words. He had pinned Sehun to the whiteboard and recited stanzas of obscenities and profanities until Sehun had smacked the man across the face. He had been terrified, yes. But he was angrier. He knew he was about to have his head handed to him. However, much to his surprise, the brutish man pulled away and blinked at Sehun in horror before he quietly left the classroom. Later that day, after school, Sehun found the man outside in the parking lot, perched on the hood of his SUV. He drew his shades down and looked at Sehun. As he started walking towards the latter, Sehun hurriedly started walking away.

 _“Hold on there, specky!”_ Rune had hollered.

Sehun stopped and cursed under his breath before he turned around and glowered at the man. _“Stay away from me or I’m calling the cops,”_ he had warned the bastard.

There was glint in Rune’s eyes then. Sehun did not think he had ever personally met someone as attractive as this man, though. _“Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to work out well for you.”_ He pulled out a cop’s badge. Left aghast, Sehun gaped at the man. He would have bet his money on a gangster. Not a police officer. _“What’s your name?”_

_“That’s none of your business.”_

_“I’m a cop, and I need you to answer every question I ask you.”_

Sehun gritted his teeth and averted his gaze away from the man. _“Sehun.”_

_“Okay. Now, how can you be reached?”_

_“Excuse me?”_ he spat, looking up at Rune again.

_“I mean, what’s your address and phone number?”_

_“I’m not telling you that.”_

_“Then I’ll have to take you in for assaulting a police officer.”_

Sehun could not bring himself to blink. Of course, he had given Rune his phone number that day. But he had not expected to receive a call two days later asking him if he was free that Friday night.

“So, your future relies on your pension funds, am I right?” asked Sehun’s father.

“Dad,” Sehun grumbled. “Can you… not badger him?”

“ _Badger_ him?” His father sat up straighter. “Are we badgering you, Rune?”

Rune shrugged. “Not at all. We’ve got all night.”

Sehun was so glad for the food that arrived at their table then. But it did not keep his parents quiet for long before they sprung for another conversation.

“What are your plans for each other?” Sehun’s mother inquired.

Rune arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, do you plan to get hitched? Move in together? Live together? Is it even safe for my son to live with you?”

Oh, God…

Rune scoffed at that. “This is not _Miami Vice_ , Mrs. Oh. I can assure you your son is not going to be in a hostage situation because of my line of work.”

“What Rune means to say is that it’s going to be all safe, Mom,” Sehun jumped in. “He’s not really… attracting any villains anytime soon. His job is pretty decent.”

“I don’t think being with someone who has so much blood and filth in his hands can hardly be considered as ‘safe’ and ‘decent’,” said his father.

Rune dropped his spoon then and fixed the older man with a black look. “I’ll have you know I’m a cop. Not a character out of a _Stephen King_ novel.”

“Are all these quips really necessary? I am not joking here.” His expression hardened as well. “We’ll be honest with you, Rune. You seem like a sharp man. With experience and maturity. So, I’m sure you will understand where we’re coming from. Our… backgrounds are different.”

“So?” spat Rune. The tip of his ears was starting to crimson. Sehun hands were quivering at this point.

“Well, it seems that I have to be blunt,” said the old man. “We do not think you are a good match for our son. We believe it’s better for us to tell you that now and here instead of dragging it on until we’re all sitting at a wedding, wishing quite literally the worst for each other. We do not like you hanging out with our son. If people saw, it would tarnish our reputation, including Sehun’s. We also do not think it is safe for him.”

Rune wiped his mouth and beard with a napkin. “Tarnish your reputation,” he snorted. “I love your son,” he then said in an earnest tone, eyes as hard as granite. “I love him, and I will cherish and protect him always. I will do everything in my power to keep him happy. I’m sorry that that’s all that I can promise you for now but it’s all that I am capable of. So, if you don’t think that’s good enough, then there’s nothing more that I can do.” He rose to his full height. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Snootington. Please enjoy your snails.”

“Rune,” Sehun gasped as he jolted up when Rune stomped away. He paused to face his parents for a beat. “He’s a good man,” he told his parents, who only rolled their eyes and took a sip of their wine. “And I love him. Why do you have to be so difficult?”

“We know what’s best for you, Sehun,” said his father.

Shaking his head, Sehun turned on his heel and hurried after his boyfriend who had stormed off. He found Rune outside, waiting for his car to be pulled up by the valet when a cigarette dangling between his lips. Lighting it up, he took a long drag on it before puffing out a pall smoke.

“Rune,” called Sehun, walking up to him. Rune turned around, eyebrows scrunched up in a furious lour. “What was that?” Sehun growled. “I asked you to behave for _one_ night. I know they can test your patience but they’re my _parents._ Not a couple of jabronis you were forced to have a conversation with at your local pub while you wait for your greasy fries and beer! You were supposed to—”

“Are you embarrassed of me?” Rune cut him off.

Sehun stopped and blinked blankly. “Wh-What?”

Rune shook his head, dropping the cigarette on the pavement before stamping it out. “You’re _embarrassed_ of me. Fuck. I can’t believe this.”

“Rune, what are you talking about?”

“All that fuss you made about me looking perfect before meeting your parents,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt cuffs before rolling the sleeves back up to his elbows. “And in there, you flinched every time I opened my mouth.”

“Rune, you don’t get it. That’s common. No parents are impressed the first time they meet their son’s boyfriend, trust me.”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I get the thing about dolling up and looking pretty for your parents. But I’m worried about what’s running in your head about me, Sehun. We’ve been together for almost two years. And it took you this long to introduce me to your parents. And when you did, you wanted me to be nowhere near my real self. What? I’m suddenly too roguish for you? I’m not intelligent enough? My hands are not _clean_ enough?”

Sehun’s heart clenched. “Rune, you’re just spiralling—”

“No. I just found out how you really feel about me.” He scrubbed his beard and glanced at the SUV that was pulled up. “I’m a thirty-five-year-old man, Sehun. I really don’t want to do this dance with someone who’s just in for the thrill but gets cold feet when things start to get too real for them.”

With that, he climbed into his car and drove away, tyres almost screeching against the road. Sehun stood on the sidewalk for a long moment as Rune’s words continued to ring in his ears.

* * *

He could not believe it. Four days. No calls, no text messages. Nothing. The only time Rune had gone without contacting him for a whole day was when he was caught up at work. They had had fights before. But Rune always caved first and apologized before he’d spent the rest of the day trying to placate Sehun.

Maybe this time, the man had really snapped. Because his pride was the one that was brought to the line this time. And Sehun was not sure if he had no part to play in it. He was not embarrassed of being with Rune. Not at all, in spite of what Rune might think. God knew how much he loved Rune. But he had always been distraught about the fact that they really did not have much in common. He was almost a decade younger than Rune. Maybe he was just worried that meeting his family would make those differences between them all the more apparent.

He was pacing a hole in his room’s floor as he stared at his phone’s screen, wondering if he should call Rune or not. He should. He should. But what if Rune did not want to talk to him right now? What would that mean then? What did Rune exactly mean when he said he did not want to do this dance with him?

Sehun had not been able to sleep or eat the past four days. He refused to talk to his parents, too, who by the way, were not in the least bit sorry for what they had done.

He put his phone away and grabbed his keys and coat before hurrying out of his room.

He drove over to Rune’s apartment at dusk only to find out that Rune was not home. So, he let himself in with the spare key Rune had given him so that he could come and go as he pleased.

The apartment was the same mess it always was. When they first started dating, Rune had at least bothered to clean it up a little before Sehun would drop by.

After taking the coat off, Sehun picked up the empty, dried out noodle cups from the dining table and tossed them in the trash before he did the pile of dishes left unwashed in the sink. Sehun had servants doing these chores for him at home, and he was quite accustomed to that lifestyle. But this felt good. Doing things for his lover felt good. It made him happy. He was not taught to take pleasure in the small things in life, but he always knew those made him the happiest.

Once he was done tidying up the apartment, he lounged on the couch and turned the TV on. For the next two hours, he barely paid any attention to it for that his mind was a complete muddle. While one part of him was mad at Rune for snubbing him for four days over a stupid fight, another part of him really just wanted to see the man right and go to sleep in his big, strong arms.

He eventually did fall asleep on the couch to the muted sound of the TV, thinking about all those times they had made hasty love on this couch, too desperate to even make to the bedroom, and that one time they were watching _Dirty Dancing_ —one of Rune’s favourite movies—with Sehun reclined on the couch, his legs dangled over Rune’s lap. When he had playfully drawn a foot up Rune’s chest, the man had smirked and pressed a kiss to the top of the foot.

He simply loved being here. Everything in this living room smelled like Rune. There were times when he would ceaselessly daydream of the future where they’d be living together and would always fall asleep in each other’s arms.

Which was why Sehun realized that it did not matter what his parents thought of Rune. He was tired of trying to impress them by being who he was. Maybe he would never make his parents proud. Maybe that would be okay if it meant getting to spend the rest of his life with Rune.

Again, it was not entirely a paradise. There were things about Rune that worried Sehun from time to time. He was so easily nettled. When they first started dating, Sehun had offhandedly told Rune over the phone about this guy, who works at the school, that kept harassing him, calling him names, touching him inappropriately every now and then. Everything that happened next was still engraved to Sehun’s brain like it had happened only yesterday. Rune was at the school the next hour and he had the guy’s head cracked against a wall. Sehun hadn’t been sure if he should be more flattered or horrified.

He roused again when he heard the apartment door being pried open before it was slammed shut. Sitting up, he turned his head halfway around to look at Rune, who had entered the apartment and was now gawking at Sehun in surprise.

Sehun rubbed his sleep-leaden eyes on the hilt of his palms and mustered Rune from head to toe. The man looked dead on his feet, his puffy with fatigue, shoulders slumped, hair beautifully mussed, his police uniform creased. Speaking of which…

He could never get used to seeing Rune in his uniform. The man looked great in black, that was no news. But the way the uniform clenched around the muscles in his upper arms and his heavily toned chest and broad shoulders always left Sehun breathless.

“Sehun, what are you doing here?” Rune asked with a tired sigh.

Sehun rose from the couch and faced Rune with a guilty look. His cheeks were rapidly growing hot. “You didn’t… call me,” he said in a low, drowsy voice.

Rune did not reply immediately as he took in the dishevelled mess Sehun apparently was in, too. Then exhaling heavily, he plodded over to the dining table where he removed his belt and watch.

“I didn’t think you’d want me to,” he said with his back turned to Sehun.

Frowning, Sehun said, “You thought I wouldn’t want you to, or is it because _you_ didn’t want to?”

Turning around, Rune pinned Sehun with a scowl. “I’m not in the mood for a fight, Sehun. Just… go home.”

“No,” Sehun said sternly and stepped forward. “You’re going to have this talk.” He sucked in a deep breath. “I can’t believe you accused me of being _embarrassed_ of you and then you just ignored me for the next four days like you didn’t want to deal with me because it’s not worth it.”

“Yeah, you’re exactly right,” Rune scoffed.

Sehun glared now and took a couple more steps closer to Rune. “What _is_ your problem?”

Rune’s jaw tightened. “My problem is that you seek your parents’ approval to be with me like a thirteen-year-old.”

“I don’t! If I were seeking their approval, I never would have dated you in the first place!”

“Because I’m not good enough for you or your family?”

Sehun stuttered, realizing that Rune had just manipulated the truth out of him. With a shaky breath, he stared into those two pools of icy blues. “That’s not… what I meant.”

“I get it, Sehun. I’m not right for you. And your parents were honestly just looking out for you. And they were right. Look around you. Is this… what you really want? Am _I_ want you really want to settle for?”

Sehun closed his eyes momentarily and took a few breaths to stop the tears from welling up in his eyes. When he opened them again, he kept them low. “I am not embarrassed of you, Rune. And it hurts that you think I am. But I do owe you an apology for the way I behaved the other day. I wanted my parents to like you even when I knew they would never. That’s why I… I was such an ass to you. But my parents are wrong.” He looked up to meet Rune’s eyes. He then brought his hands to his lover’s heaving chest. “They’re wrong. I am _happy_ when I’m with you.”

Rune said nothing to that. He only stared down at Sehun with a grim and forbidding expression.

Sehun swallowed hard. “Rune… I love you,” he decided to say, in a very quiet whisper. “I love you.”

When Rune did not give him a response, Sehun’s heart began to thunder with worry. He slowly curled his fingers around Rune’s uniform shirt against his chest.

“Rune?”

Why was he not saying anything? Was he… really done this time? Sehun could no longer bite back on the tears that were starting to sting his eyes.

And then Rune brought his hands to the side of Sehun’s hips. “Do you want to marry me?” he blurted out, voice as gruff as it always was when he was either in the mood to punch someone’s teeth out or to ravage Sehun like a feral beast.

“What?” Sehun let out, lips parted, and eyes ballooned.

Rune pulled away from the dining table before he spun Sehun around and slammed him back against the table’s edge. Panting, Sehun held onto Rune’s shoulders. Rune hoisted him up from the ground with his hands gripping Sehun’s thighs and raised Sehun to seat him on the table.

“Rune,” Sehun whimpered, locking his legs around Rune’s waist, wrapping his hands around the man’s strong, thick neck.

Pressing his forehead against Sehun’s, Rune growled softly, a hand snaking under Sehun’s shirt to grip his supple corner of waist. The man’s beard was almost grazing Sehun’s face and his breath, sharp and hot against Sehun’s lips.

“Marry me,” Rune grumbled like an animal ready to pounce. “Yes or no?”

Sehun, with arduous breaths, tightened his legs around Rune to press their crotches together. It had Rune’s teeth grinding. _Marry me._ God. God. Sehun’s head spun. Of course, he had dreamed of marrying Rune one day. And he knew what that would entail. The happy life he had longed for with Rune, and the disapproval from his family. He did not care about the latter anymore.

“Yes. _Yes._ ”

His whole world slipped away, just like it always did, when Rune brought their lips together in a heaty, forceful kiss that promptly had Sehun’s skin burning and blood drumming in his ears. Perhaps the thing he loved the most about being with Rune was that even in his most vulnerable moment, he wanted Rune to be assertive and rough and firm. Rune never failed to deliver.

He tilted his head and cupped the back of Sehun’s head with one of his big, strong hands. His mouth poised over Sehun’s in a desperate hunger, sucking and gently biting Sehun’s lips every now and then with a deep groan rumbling in his broad chest.

While Sehun tried to keep up with Rune’s violent yet passionate kisses, his fingers fumbled to undo the buttons of Rune’s tight uniform shirt. As soon as he had succeeded in unbuttoning it, he splayed his fingers over the fine hairs strewn on the man’s muscled chest before drawing them down his abs.

Curling a hand around Sehun’s neck, Rune slammed Sehun back to lie down on the table before he ripped Sehun’s shirt open. He then leaned over to seize Sehun’s lips for another wet, angry kiss as he removed his own shirt and tossed it to the floor.

A raspy moan broke from Sehun’s throat when Rune dragged his mouth along Sehun’s jaw before he latched it to a side of Sehun’s neck and sucked a bruise into it. The way Rune’s beard scraped one of the most sensitive parts of his skin had Sehun writhing, hand balled into fist around Rune’s hair at the back of his head.

It did not take Rune long to move from the neck to Sehun’s nipples, leaving the wet, hot, hard and pink after minutes of licking and sucking them. Every inch of Sehun’s body Rune’s beard pricked was left burning and scarlet.

His hands on the sides of Sehun’s torso held Sehun down when the latter’s back kept arching off the table as Rune filled his flat stomach with kisses and tender nips. He then went lower.

They had been together long enough for Sehun to be completely comfortable trusting Rune with his body. But even now, Rune’s touches and kisses blossomed him like the first time he was touched by the man.

Rune wasted no time ridding Sehun of his pants. The hard table against his back was not agreeable or optimal, but it beat the kitchen counter _and_ Sehun did not really care where he was fucked tonight. After days of fretting and uncertainty, he just needed the reassurance that Rune and he were fine and were _going_ _to be_ fine.

A big part of him knew that Rune would not just end everything over something as trivial as one disastrous dinner with Sehun’s parents. He loved Sehun too much to let go of him so easily. Maybe he just needed the same reassurance Sehun did.

Peppering the insides of Sehun’s thighs with rough kisses, Rune clamped his hands around the back of Sehun’s knees and folded his legs forward. Then lowering to a crouch, Rune rammed his mouth against the cleft of Sehun’s ass before his tongue darted out to lick along the tight rim of muscles.

“Ah… Rune… Oh… _God_ …” Sehun eventually clasped a hand over his mouth to stifle his obscene moans while the other reached between his legs to grip Rune’s hair while Rune’s tongue flicked over his opening, teasing it every time the tip of his tongue pressed into it.

Pulling back briefly, Rune spat on the orifice before licking his spit up and smearing it all over the cleft. “Fuck, you taste so good, baby,” he huffed breathlessly and ran his tongue down the opening a few more times. Then he rose back to his full height and bent over to crash his mouth upon Sehun’s, which parted willingly at demand.

Sehun drew his hands along Rune’s muscled arms that were damp and sheening with sweat.

“Let’s take this to the bed, shall we?” Rune mumbled against Sehun’s mouth before he picked Sehun up and bore him to the bedroom without disconnecting their lips. While his hands cupped Sehun’s ass, his fingers reached for Sehun’s puckered opening to rub it as he staggered his way to the bedroom.

Lying Sehun down on the bed, Rune hurriedly stepped out of his boots before he clambered into the bed, leaving the pants on, and kissed Sehun all over his face and body, worshipping his lover like he was the divinity that awakened him. And Sehun worshipped Rune all the same.

As Rune knelt up and started unfastening the fly of his trousers, Sehun watched him with bated breath, a hand brushing the man’s rock-hard abdominal muscles, fingers lowering to the trail of hair beneath his navel.

Rune shifted on his knees momentarily to grab the tube of lotion and a pack of condom from the bedside drawers.

“No,” Sehun gasped before Rune could drop forward for a kiss. Grabbing the bigger man’s sides, he shoved Rune down to lie on the bed and climbed to his knees. Rune’s eyes widened as Sehun straddled him and pressed his hands to Rune’s abdomen, knees planted firmly into the mattress on either side of Rune.

“Oh… I’m not saying no to this,” said Rune, licking his lips as his eyes wandered from Sehun’s dainty mouth all the way down to Sehun’s cock that was resting against Rune’s stomach.

“You do look tired,” Sehun said, almost smirking as he leaned down to kiss his man. Prying the lotion out of Rune’s hand, Sehun uncapped it and spilled a generous amount onto his fingers. He then brought them to his own ass and slid a finger in. He had gotten very used to the discomfort and the initial burning sensation of having fingers inside him. They really were no match to the real deal.

And speaking of which, Rune was already unbelievably hard in his pants. Sehun felt the man’s cock throb and pulsate between against his crotch as he sat down on Rune.

“Fuck,” Rune exhaled, raising his hands to Sehun’s waist while Sehun fingered himself, stretching him open. It felt good to have his fingers curl around him, finding his sweet spots and stimulating them easily. Especially with quite the view laid out before his eyes. But he needed Rune inside him. He wanted to feel that burn, that glory of taking all of Rune in him.

“ _Rune_ ,” Sehun whimpered shakily when his fingers hit a spot that sent electric jolts down his spine.

Slipping a hand into his trousers, Rune took hold of his cock and started pumping it, keeping the rest of his attention all on Sehun. And while he jerked off to the sight of Sehun fingering himself on top of him, gasping viciously for breath, sweat beads formed on his body.

Sehun eventually pulled his fingers out when he decided that he needed more. Rune caught those fingers and brought them to his own mouth to suck on them before he yanked Sehun down for a sloppy kiss.

Straightening back up, Sehun spat on his hand and rubbed it onto Rune’s leaking cockhead. It had Rune’s eyes rolling back as his hand tightened around a side of Sehun’s waist, hard enough to leave a temporary bruise.

“Jesus Christ, you’re going to… kill me, Sehun,” Rune groaned when Sehun thumbed the slit on his cock. He then tore the packaging of the condom with his teeth before sliding it onto his own erection while Sehun watched him with his lower lip curled between his teeth.

He rose on his knees and slathered on some lotion onto Rune’s condomed shaft and lined in between his ass cheeks before slowly lowering down on it. His breath snagged, and his body shuddered as though he were going through a shock. But the feeling was all familiar. The first time they had had sex, it was both unbelievable and agonizing for Sehun, in spite of Rune having been gentle and careful. But with more practice, Sehun had come to enjoy the whole thing.

And the best part was knowing that he was giving Rune as much as the pleasure he was taking.

Rune huffed and tenderly stroked along the sides of Sehun’s torso. “Slowly,” he said in a quiet tone.

Sehun rocked his hips forward and back a few times, and he was once again drawn back to the euphoria of being pleasured from the inside. Godless words sprung from his mouth as he rode Rune to ecstasy, fingernails digging into the man’s abs and chest and eventually his neck when he leaned over for a kiss.

* * *

“You know,” Rune muttered as they lay all spent and worn on the bed in the dead of the night, their tangled bodies still damp from sweat and come under the covers. “Our make-up sex is always the best.”

Sehun scoffed out a chuckle, his head resting on Rune’s haired chest. “I’ll concur with that.”

“I’m sorry,” Rune then said at length. “I shouldn’t have said those things the other night.”

Sehun’s smile faltered as he stared into the dark of the room. Raising his head after a moment, he met Rune’s eyes. “Did you mean it? Earlier… When you asked me to… marry you?”

Rune blinked. “Of course, I did. What, you thought it was a bit for foreplay? I think there are better ways to turn a guy on than to ask his hand in marriage.”

Sehun sighed. “I mean… I want you to be sure.”

“Sehun, I’m almost forty. I want to get married. I love you and I don’t see why we shouldn’t be married. Well, apart from the fact that you have assholes for parents who think I have _Gitmo_ in my backpack or something. But this is _your_ life. And I don’t like them… bullying you like that. I know that you want to respect them. But at the end of the day, it’s your happiness. So, you choose. Do you want to be with me in this… small, shoddy apartment as just a schoolteacher, or do you want to have your fancy servants, be your parents’ heir, and eventually get married to some pompous ass that would probably take you for granted?”

Sehun laughed. “I already said yes. You don’t have to make such a compelling case for me to choose you.”

“And did you mean it?” His tone was serious now.

Sehun nodded his head with a nervous breath. “I know things won’t always be perfect but… I want you. I want a life with you.”

Rune smiled then and propped himself up on his elbows to capture Sehun’s lips in a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and for leaving comments and kudos!


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